The Wright Receives Grant Award from McIninch Foundation

The McIninch Foundation recently awarded $3,000 to the Wright Museum of WWII, which Executive Director Mike Culver said will “significantly enhance” its curatorial department.

“We are so grateful to the McIninch Foundation for this grant because it goes to ‘behind the scenes’ operations,” he said. “The grant will greatly impact what the public sees both at the Museum and online, and it will also be instrumental to the work of staff and to researchers who can’t come to The Wright.”

Justin Gamache, curator at The Wright, said he is “thrilled” at the award.

“As a result of this grant, we’ll be able to upgrade our collections management software to a newer cloud-based program that will help us streamline our collections process,” he said. “As we embark on a reorganization project in our archives, this new software will allow us to produce more detailed records and better track items in our collection.”

Curator Justin Gamache examines artifacts waiting to be photographed and added to the museum’s collections management database.

Culver added, “The software will also enable us to more easily share images of collection items on our web site and social media platforms.”

Other items covered by the grant award include a camera, lightbox and scanner, all of which will enhance The Wright’s ability to digitally capture and share its collection.

“Not everyone can visit us, so the grant helps our collection become more accessible to everyone through digital channels,” Culver said. “We can reach more people with our collection as a result of this grant, and we are truly grateful for that.”

The region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II, The Wright features more than 14,000 items in its collection that are representative of both the homefront and battlefield.